Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

21 reviews

mtoothman3's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Good read. I listened to the whole book in 1 day. Fast read. It keeps you coming back. Lots of twists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

ashleyj_reads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Murder

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There were parts of this plot that I'm still not totally sure if I ended up with the correct conclusion about. And although the book never says directly that Dawn is autistic, this feels like Ms. McFadden took all of the autism characteristics that she could find and turned them up to 11 and stuffed them into one character. And that felt a little unrealistic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder

bookfulthoughts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Intriguing and full of twists ✨

“After all, there’s nothing that binds two people like a shared secret.”

I was in a terrible reading slump, and this book got me out of it. I enjoyed how easy it was to get into, and the writing style, twist, and different personalities hooked me. I wasn't sure what to expect because I went in blind, but I wanted to get more into thrillers, and this did not disappoint. 

The plot was well-developed, and the twists weren't predictable! I enjoyed that each character was layered, and pieces were revealed as the story progressed. I was constantly jotting down different theories and explanations to see if I could solve the mystery before it got revealed. I have to admit that I was shocked a few times! This book had me thinking, gasping, and buzzed with excitement to reach the end. 

Overall, this was a solid read. I'd recommend this book, especially to people getting into thrillers☺️! Side note unexpectedly I did learn a lot about 🐢🤣.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Stalking

filipa_maia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was an 'ok' book. Not bad but, definitely, not great. The plot was sloppy and kinda confusing towards the end. And predictable: when we read Natalie's perspective of things and then read Dawn's messages there are so little things in common that I understood the plot. The only thing left was understanding the 'why' and when I got there it was just 'ok'.

I was expecting more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the direction it was going, but the ending was disappointing. The twists were great (as usual, with Freida Mcfadden, the queen of thrillers). I was just expecting something "more" to happen. I did love the unreliable narration, and how you get to watch the past unfold with strange emails left behind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content

lianathereader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Blood

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While not my favorite of her books, this one still packed a punch. All of McFadden’s novels read so easily, I fly right through them. Many of the chapters end in tiny cliffhangers and they’re short,  so it’s easy to keep plowing through the story. This thriller/mystery did not surprise me as much as some of the ones I’ve read in the past. It did have a twist, but it wasn’t an unexpected one to me so I think that dropped this book in my eyes as far as the rating goes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

rsagarin's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

clover_ways's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder